Chongqing was the capital city of China during the World Word Two. There were many Muslims migrated to Chongqing during that period of time. There are eight mosques in Chongqing. The Muslim Mansion located at Zhongxing Road is where Chongqing Islamic Association located. The Arabic style prayer hall is located on the top of Chongqing Muslim Mansion which also provides guest rooms and Halal restaurants. IslamiChina has summarized the following Chongqing Muslim travel tips to our Muslim brothers and sisters to travel Chongqing during a short period of time.

Tour Itinerary Planning

For Muslim Business Travelers If you are in Chongqing for a business trip and you have one day free to travel around Chongqing, you may take a walk on the streets of Chongqing. The best place for a walk is Jiefangbei and Ciqikou area. You may join local Muslims at Chongqing Mosque for Salat prayers.

For Muslim leisure travelers

There are not many places worth visiting in Chongqing. Therefore it is better not to arrange Chongqing in your tour itinerary if you are not cruising the Yangtze River. People normally travel to Chongqing because they need to catch a boat for downstream cruise of the Yangtze River or get off the cruise boat from Chongqing to catch flights to other cities.

Accommodations

There is no Muslim hotel in Chongqing, you may choose to stay at international brand name hotels such as Sheraton, Hilton, Holiday Inns and dine at local Halal restaurants in Chongqing.

Halal Restaurants in Chongqing

The easiest way to find a Halal restaurant in China is to look for local mosque. Mosque is always located in the center of a Muslim community, no doubt, Halal restaurants can be found around Mosque serving local Halal food. In Chongqing, Halal restaurants are also located in other part of the city serving Southeast Asian Cuisine, local Chongqing Halal cuisine and Xinjiang Uyghur Cuisine, Lanzhou Beef Noodles can be found in many parts of Chongqing.

Mosques in Chongqing

There are eight mosques in Chongqing. The Muslim Mansion located at Zhongxing Road is where Chongqing Islamic Association located. The Arabic style prayer hall is located on the top of Chongqing Muslim Mansion which also provides guest rooms and Halal restaurants. Covering an area of 4500 square meters, Chongqing mosque is located at Zhongxing Road. Chongqing mosque was first built during the period of Wanli Emperor’s rein of the Ming Dynasty. In the Ming Dynasty, there were three mosques in Chongqing: the one at Zhongxing Road was named West mosque: the one located at the site of current Chongqing theater was named South mosque and the third one was named North mosque. Both South Mosque and North mosque was destroyed by the Japanese in 1940. The current Chongqing Mosque was rebuilt in 1982 with green Arabic dome on the top.

Money Exchange

You can exchange traveler's checks or cash at most banks, and most 5-star and 4-star hotels always have a money exchange counter. You can also get a cash advance on your credit card on ATM machine. The exchange rate all over China are the same fixed by Bank of China. To change money, you have to have your passport at hand. If you want to change money in a hotel, you usually have to be a guest there. Sometimes if you are not a guest in a hotel but need to change money there, you can just say a random room number, but this doesn't always work. Remember to keep the exchange slip well because you need this slip to change the Chinese Yuan back to your currency if you do have this need at the end of the tour. At present, the RMB is not exchangeable on the International market, so it is only usable within the country. So when you are changing money, don't change too much, because it is difficult to change back into other currencies. To change RMB back into your home currency, you must retain the exchange slips that are given to you at the bank or money exchange counter.